The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame has unveiled its Class of 2012.

Doug Melvin, Rusty Staub, Rheal Cormier and the 2011 Canadian senior national team will be inducted this June in St. Marys, Ont.

Melvin, from Chatham, Ont., has served as the general manager of the Milwaukee Brewers since 2002 and was named Baseball executive of the year for 2011 by Baseball America after Milwaukee won the National League Central Division title.

The 59-year-old pitched in the minor leagues in the 1970s before landing an administrative job with the New York Yankees in 1983. He later moved to the Baltimore Orioles' front office and landed his first GM job with the Texas Rangers in 1994, a position he held until 2001.

The Chatham, Ont., native said he was thrilled when he was informed of his induction last month.

"I thought if I was recognized it might have been later on," Melvin said. "Once you retire, sometimes these things happen … I'm very humbled and honoured for being recognized at this point."

'I always kid around — when they do an autopsy obviously New York is where most of my life has been. But they're always going to have that little M-T-L part of my heart because that was a great time in my life.'— Rusty Staub on his time with the Montreal Expos

Staub, a six-time all-star, played 518 games for the Montreal Expos over his 23-year career. Nicknamed "Le Grand Orange" for his colourful hair, Staub played for Montreal from 1969 to '71 and returned for a brief stint in 1979.

Long career

The outfielder/first baseman also played for the New York Mets, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers and is 12th on Major League Baseball's all-time list with 2,951 games played.

"I always kid around — when they do an autopsy obviously New York is where most of my life has been," Staub said Tuesday on a conference call. "But they're always going to have that little M-T-L part of my heart because that was a great time in my life."

Staub's No. 10 was the first number ever retired by the Expos franchise, which moved to Washington in 2004. His attempts to learn French, charity work and stellar play on the field endeared him to Montreal fans.

"I just have to say it was a spectacular part of my life and I totally appreciate the recognition in Canada," he said.

The 67-year-old New Orleans native is the only player in MLB history to record over 500 hits for four different teams.

Cormier, a 44-year-old Moncton native, spent 16 years in the major leagues. The southpaw made 683 career appearances and played for the Expos, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds.

Sterling '03 season

His best season came with the Phillies in 2003 when he went 8-0 with a 1.70 earned-run average and 67 strikeouts over 84 innings. Cormier also played for the Canadian team at the 1987 Pan Am Games, the 1988 and 2008 Summer Olympics and at the 2006 World Baseball Classic.

"This is an unbelievable honour to have been chosen and mentioned in the same breath as the great Canadians who have been inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame before me," he said.

Former Toronto Blue Jays catcher Ernie Whitt, who was inducted into the Hall as a player in 2009, managed the national team to its first Pan Am Games gold medal last October.

"I've got chills up and down all over again," Whitt said of the team's honour.

Canada edged host Mexico 5-3 in the semifinals before upsetting the undefeated Americans 2-1 in the final. James Van Ostrand of Richmond, B.C., led Canada with a .474 average and had an on-base percentage of .565 and slugging percentage of .579.

The Canadian team also won bronze at the 2011 World Cup in Panama City.

The induction ceremony is set for June 23 beside the Hall's museum.